


Iridescent, Living In The Dark

by robertstanion



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: F/F, F/M, Songfic, The Apotheosis aftermath, are they infected or are they not, colonel schaffer vs a sea of zombies, descriptions of death, descriptions of violence, guidance from the black and white, hi and welcome to my 100th fic, idk im in my third lockdown i cba, inaccurate descriptions of death, infected! Emma Perkins, infected! Paul Matthews - Freeform, my fic my rules, part 3 of the zoya and jay hatchetfield universe, possible lexical field about water, quarantine bay, she's zoyas, song: Monster - Those Who Dream, the female peip character isn't mine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:40:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28579128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robertstanion/pseuds/robertstanion
Summary: After becoming the hive leader, Paul Matthews, now named Ben Bridges, has one thing on his mind. World Domination. Pokotho and Emma Perkins can be the only ones to help him. Unfortunately, Colonel Schaffer got in their way. But, this is a musical pandemic, after all, and nothing is getting in his way.
Relationships: Colonel Schaffer/Female PEIP Character, Paul Matthews & Pokotho, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Iridescent, Living In The Dark

**Author's Note:**

> two things:   
> 1\. this is my 100th fic. in commemoration of me reaching such a mildstone 5 days into 2021, i wrote a paulkins fic. before the days of black friday, they were all i wrote so as a little note back to that i decided to write this. obviously my writing has improved since 2019. i'm sorry if u read any of my awful first fics they were bad. also, i did a songfic. it's relevant. i love songfics.   
> 2\. casually name drops my fave oc of zoyas. sorry :)
> 
> also another thing: all the lyrics are speech. the song is listed in the tags. enjoy this shithole :D

An outcast, a cry for help and an explosion so powerful that it sounded for miles over into Clivesdale became Paul Matthews’ downfall. It was all down to want. He’d always deny it, that it was for love, for Emma Perkins, but Pokey knew better. Now that he was rooted in the mind of the office worker, he knew everything about everyone. Working in an office had _some_ advantages, after all, and if that meant getting your gossip from people by overhearing conversations, then that must be how it was. After all, who were to question an innocent man who drank black coffee and reviewed movies for a living?

With the information Pokey managed to obtain, part two of his plan began. He guided the empty shell of Paul Matthews to the Nantucket Bridge. With everyone else on the island either dead or infected at that point, it wasn’t hard to lower it. From there, Pokey controlled Paul, ensuring he stole the first car he came across, and powered across the bridge until he got to the hospital in Clivesdale. Pokey’s plan would have been made easier if the victim were to be found in St Damien’s, but, it was fairly understandable as to _why_ Emma was transported to where she was.

Coming up with the alias of Ben Bridges wasn’t a hard thing at all. Considering it was the name of the man’s ID Pokey had found in the glovebox of the car and the original Ben Bridges was dead, it didn’t necessarily count as identity fraud. With the new knowledge of his new name, the body of Paul Matthews walked inside of the hospital and to the ward where Emma would be.

Outside was a woman with curly hair wearing a beret and a faded black sweater over a white shirt. She appeared to be someone from the military guarding where Emma Perkins was located, and that was relevant to him. It meant he was able to get in with ease. Quickly, he came up with a lie on the spot under the persona of Ben Bridges, and the Colonel named Schaffer walked into the room where the nurse was. Apparently, two weeks had gone by since he’d become infected, and Emma was ready to home.

The delight on her eyes when she saw it was him was something out of understanding. She was so happy…maybe he felt sorry for her, if he could. The poor woman stood no chance. Alone versus a sea of musical singing zombies was the way Emma Perkins died. She fell, collapsing under her impaled leg, and a hymn-like cure was able to bring her to the light of the truth.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have much time together. A tranquiliser dart hit Paul’s shoulder, many of the infected members collapsing to the floor unconscious. He could feel the rhythm, the beat coming to a horrific close, one that he hadn’t asked for a closure at that point. The blue around him began to fade, and he realised that that was it for him. That Pokotho couldn’t grasp a hold of the reigns anymore, and now he’d lost all stability of himself. Once his eyes shut unwillingly, a switch flipped. Paul Matthews was gone, but it didn’t mean that the leader of The Apotheosis was...yet.

The next time he woke, he was in a white cell with a single bed decked in white bedsheets. The walls were covered in padded squares. The door was made of some sort of metal, presumably to keep whatever was needed to stay in the cells _in_ and whatever was needed to stay out. There was a small window from where he was laying, and inside he could see the messy bun of Emma Perkins, her leg covered in bandages. Her room was identical to his. He couldn’t see who was next to Emma’s room. They were too far away. This had to be some sort of quarantining process, but sometimes, a monster didn’t want to be quarantined.

In and out came soldiers. Their mannerisms were similar to waves at a beach. At sea, they looked so peaceful from a distance, and as they approached the shore, they got bigger and more ferocious, yet when they hit land, they crashed without anything else to prevent them from doing so. As of the day Paul was awake in, the date unknown to him, any soldier that came close to him to run tests became one of them. The pandemic was only starting, and soon, Pokotho’s mission would be successful. It’d be complete.

The days came in short bursts, none of which any different than the previous or the one ahead. More people died, and though people tried to up their defences, it wasn’t anything compared to the danger that was a tiny spore that, once finding its way to the brain, killed in a split second. It started with a dull headache, and then fidgeting in the form of tapping to the beat, and then the flash mob like scenes occurred. That was the final stage. That stage couldn’t be prevented. Why should it be? Nothing screamed carefree like _musical pandemic,_ did it? It gave the host of the spores their own freedom. Nobody could stop it, and with the military getting shorter and shorter by the second…well, they were powerless.

On that one day, arms crossed over his chest, staring at the ceiling, he craved more. He didn’t want to wait for his prey; he wanted to hunt them like a true predator. He could feel the song crawling in, and he slowly sat up. Dressed in white t-shirt and grey sweatpants, only socks on his feet, he looked like everyone else. He wouldn’t for much longer. He was the leader, and they’d know it soon enough. He tapped two knuckles against the wall, peering in through the window, and watched as Emma at up just as gracefully as she usually did. Paul cocked his head, a smile forming on his lips, blue sludge dripping down his tongue, the song immediately starting up.

 _“I’ve been talking to the walls again,”_ he hummed softly at first, pressing his palms against the glass of the window, watching as his lover walked over to him. _“I’ve got a lot of thoughts that I should hate.”_ Even in death, Paul Matthews was an honest man. Once he had the reigns of his own body, he hadn’t wished death or torture upon anyone. He always tried to see the good in any scenario, even if it appeared impossible to do so. There wasn’t excusing those who were clearly terrible, like those who assaulted others, racists and homophobes, to name a few. But now…he wanted them dead. All of them. He wanted to taste their hearts while he watched the victim’s blood pool on to the ground, and then he wanted to dance in it like it was rain. _“I can keep myself steady if my brain’s upstairs, but it’s about to dissipate.”_ With a blink, his eyes became the brightest of blues, as did Emma’s, and a joint smirk formed on both of their faces.

 _“So, I put it on lockdown now,”_ Emma started singing from the other room as she walked away from the window. Beside her, her arms swung to the rhythm of the song that only they could hear, her feet walking steadily to the beat that was forming more and more. _“The feeling of an itch that I can’t scratch.”_ She walked over to the door and dragged her finger along the cold metal, pressing her back against it, looking to the wall where she could feel Paul doing the same thing. It was the choreography. He had to be doing it. _“I can pause myself. Disconnect the grey matter…”_ Emma was a special case. She hadn’t been entirely infected. The kiss hadn’t been as powerful as Charlotte getting her guts ripped out, Ted forcefully swallowing the spores, or Paul’s explosion. So, there were instances where she could gain control. She became a double agent, per se, for PEIP and for The Apotheosis. When she was Emma, Pokotho couldn’t grab her thoughts, but when she was singing, PEIP could still monitor her. Even in the darkness, she was still the good guy, but… _”I’d look, but not get too attached.”_

 _“But I’m still cynical.”_ Paul sang the next line, grasping the small crack between the wall and the door, goop still spilling on to the ground, leaving small splodges as a trail.

 _“Through it all,”_ Emma continued, pulling out a key from the pocket of her sweatpants, jamming it in the keyhole. With a sharp twist, the door clicked open successfully. She poked her head out of the doors, looking around at the empty hospital corridor and smirked to herself. She stepped out and punched in the code to Paul’s room, listening to him sing.

 _“Destroyed my own bones,”_ he sang as the door swung open. He looked at the girl he loved, his eyes wide with loving, taking her outstretched hand, pulled into a tango like position.

 _“It’s typical.”_ Emma pecked a bloody kiss to Paul’s cheek, not realising the alarm had been set off. From both ends of the corridor, PEIP agents had began to swarm, but it didn’t concern the king and queen of The Hive. It only filled them with adrenaline.

 _“I’ll be outdone.”_ Paul gripped Emma protectively as he watched some of the agents shoulder their rifles, others loading up their firearms with bullets, while Emma kept a stern gaze on Colonel Schaffer.

 _“I’ll be outnumbered.”_ Her tone became bitter as the Colonel stepped forward, protecting her team.

Schaffer’s pistol was loaded and ready to fire. It was pointed directly at the head of Paul Matthews. She knew that if he died, the entire bastards would go down with him. The mastermind behind The Apotheosis hadn’t been in the meteor, but it had taken root in Paul’s mind. If they were lucky enough, they may be able to salvage the soul of Paul Matthews. If not, they’d have to risk sending a soldier into The Black and White to retrieve the half-living. “This doesn’t have to end like this! If you step down now, we won’t have to turn to violence!” She called to them, but Paul offered a melodic chuckle.

 _“Take another fucking shot.”_ He said, turning his head to face the Colonel, letting go of Emma. Guns clicked, ready to fire, but he shook his head. _“Yeah, I know you wanna.”_ As bullets began to rain towards them, Paul pointed to the other doors to release the other infected. As Emma bolted from behind him, and the bullets came within centimetres of him, a bright force shield formed around him and Emma. The bullets repelled off of it, hitting the officers that had fired them, and they dropped dead instantly. Only two of three remained alive and standing.

When the force field dropped, Paul or Emma were no longer dressed in the shitty hospital provided clothes. Paul was dressed in a regal blue suit fit with a black tie, and as he turned, Emma was dressed in a simple blue dress, a black belt tied around her waist, a lot of dark lace on the bottom of it. Her hair was tied into an updo, and he smiled, his blue stained teeth glowing. He watched as Emma began letting the other members of the infected out, starting with the three found in the room beside Emma. Ted Spankoffski, Bill Woodward and Charlotte all came stumbling out, dressed in some sort of blue uniform, but not as magnificent as The Hive’s leaders. _“A cold start to another day.”_ He started, striding towards the other officers, who, in a scramble, dropped their weapons. Schaffer, by that point, had disappeared, but she was the least of Paul’s worries. He picked up one of the guns, hearing Emma’s voice behind him followed by another click from a door opening.

 _“Iridescent?”_ She asked, and Paul nodded. Underneath the light, their outfits shifted from purples and a navy like colour to a bright blue or a black.

 _“Living in the dark.”_ He aimed his gun upwards and fired a bullet that singlehandedly destroyed all lights in the corridor. From what he could discover, it’d most likely blow all the other lights in the hospital. The infected were winning, as they should be. _“I’m a monster!”_ He turned back to Emma to see another few Hatchetfield citizens spiling out. Some had limbs twisted at weird angles, others had bullet wounds, and some had organs exposed.

 _“Gotta hide away!”_ The chorus of the ensemble rang, almost as if they were mocking those afraid of the infected. Mocking Paul and Emma when they’d tried to assist Charlotte with Sam earlier on in the month but- thinking of his past made him weak, and he couldn’t. He wanted to be a part of the pack. He _was_ a part of the pack.

_“It’s so clear that I fit the part of a-“_

_“Cold start to another day.”_ Emma hummed as she opened a final door, handing the key over to Nora. She walked back over to her king and buttoned up his blazer for him, sorting his suit out for him. _“Iridescent, living in the dark.”_ Around them, the bodies of the infected began to glow like a lantern or a torch. They illuminated the hallways with brilliant blues that couldn’t be stopped. In the blues, there was the quick sighting of a silhouette of a soldier, female appropriately, diving out of the hospital ward, collecting guns, and Paul clicked his fingers at the shadow.

 _“I’m a monster. Gotta hide away. It’s so clear that I fit the part of a-“_ He continued to sing, dancing towards where he’d seen Schaffer run off to, allowing Emma to carry the rest of the song.

 _“I’ve had enough of my face.”_ She said as she followed, the clicks of her small heels along the tiles being interrupted by the blood of the infected that continued to drip on to the floor. The entire island was beginning to spill out of the hospital rooms they’d been confided in, some having only one in, others having four in. Hatchetfield was a tiny island, yes, abandoned at first sight, but the residents were enough to make an army. Complete with the newly infected Clivesdale soldiers, they were out for blood. By blood, they meant the rest of the world. _“I need to trade places with the people that I left unhinged.”_

 _“While they wipe out my last name!”_ Paul sang, growling simultaneously, turning the corner, hearing footsteps of heavy boots running still. He shook his head. He was never Ben Bridges. He was always Paul Matthews, and he couldn’t allow himself to be told otherwise. But Ben Bridges had started to become the leader of the hive, and Paul was some, weak office worker. Maybe he shouldn’t be Ben after all…

 _“And keep me under the floor.”_ Emma hooked her arm with Paul’s as they walked towards the direction their soon-to-be victim would be, the island citizens following in sync behind them while Paul nodded, but his eyes temporarily flickered back to his usual soft blue and not the electric sparks that had submerged him.

 _“I’m alive, but I don’t want to get out…”_ He sang to himself. Luckily, nobody else heard. Within seconds, the bright blue eyes were back, and Paul Matthews was nowhere to be found.

 _“Thorns digging in deep and slowing me down.”_ Emma followed around, and as she turned the corner, she saw Schaffer quickly ducking into a hospital room. She immediately began to run forward towards her. _“The reason that I don’t sleep that was never allowed.”_

 _“I hate the way that they live in perfect poetry.”_ Paul mumbled quietly as he tried to keep up the song, but he couldn’t feel the presence of Pokotho in his mind anymore. He let his blue eyes return again and looked forward. “Am I who I’m supposed to be?”

 _“Cause I’m still cynical, through it all!”_ Emma sang, her voice getting progressively louder as she knocked on the door to the beat she was singing with. _“Destroyed my own bones!”_ Frustrated, she kicked the door, and felt a pain shoot up her bandaged leg. She hissed it and almost fell, only to be caught by her boyfriend.

 _“It’s typical.”_ He sang in a soft whisper, helping her back up on her feet. _“I’ll be outdone”_

From in the room, Schaffer was crouched behind a large stack of boxes. Though it wasn’t a good enough hiding place, it would do the trick for now. She had to wait until the infected inevitably bust down the door, and then she could strike. “I’ll be outnumbered…” Schaffer whispered to herself, running through her plan once more in her head before the door clattered open.

 _“TAKE ANOTHER FUCKING SHOT, YEAH I KNOW YOU WANNA!”_ A chorus of voices erupted from all around the room and Schaffer, drawing a breath, jumped up, firing as many bullets as she could with the assistance of the few members who stayed alive.

 _“A cold start to another day. Iridescent living in the dark. I’m a monster,”_ Paul and Emma began to sing before pointing at Schaffer, infected citizens dropping like flies as they took charge. They stepped towards her and the other agents, and with a command, they fled, causing Emma to smirk.

_“Gotta hide away.”_

_“It’s so clear that I fit the part of a cold start to another day.”_ Paul shook his head, more goop dripping down his chin as he began to try and corner one of the agents while keeping an eye on the other two, which proved a more difficult task than he originally thought.

 _“Iridescent, living in the dark!”_ Emma hissed and turned around, ordering her followers to stop coming in. It was almost a surrender, but not quite. _“I’m a monster, gotta hide away. It’s so clear that I fit the part of a-.“_ As she began to help Paul, her infected pets began to finish off the song for them.

 _“Cold start to another day. Iridescent living in the dark. I’m a monster, gotta hide away. It’s so clear that I fit the part of a-.” They_ chorused as Emma gripped one of the soldiers, disarmed them, and then shot a round through them. She blew them a kiss, watched as their grey, lifeless eyes turned blue and rose like a puppet, allowing her and Paul to take back over.

 _“But I’m still cynical, through it all.”_ She said and pointed to Schaffer and the other agent. Hungrily, the other agent licked their lips and stalked towards Schaffer, following their leader’s order, joining in with a song.

 _“Destroyed my own bones!”_ Paul roared, backing the second agent further into the corner, and the soldier began to sing her own chorus.

 _“It’s typical. I’ll be outdone. I’ll be outnumbered!”_ They pointed behind them, but Schaffer couldn’t see who they were gesturing towards. Either way, the voice that sang next seemed familiar. All too familiar. _“A cold start to another day,”_ the same soldier sang as Emma assisted Paul with the killing of the second soldier. They watched his body crumple to the floor and rise again, attached to invisible strings.

 _“Iridescent, living in the dark.”_ Emma sang, walking away, going over to Schaffer, ignoring Paul’s sudden voice break.

“I’m a monster!” He said, looking to his hands that were trembling. He couldn’t see anything in the blue-coloured glasses he’d been wearing. He looked to Colonel Schaffer, who was trying to fight herself free. She noticed he was himself, Paul Matthews, and managed to push Emma and the other soldier off of her. She rushed forward and looked at him.

“Run Paul. Pretend you’re still them and get to the JEIP. You gotta hide away. They’ll be after you-“

 _“It’s so clear that you fit the part of a-“_ Emma and the other soldier sang as they pinned her back to the wall, another soldier walking towards them, and they let her finish the song.

 _“Cold start to another day.”_ She dragged her feet as if they were nothing, and Schaffer finally got a glimpse of the girl. _“Iridescent, living in the dark.”_ Even in death, resurrected from nothing, she was still beautiful. Even with gunk running down her face, she was still beautiful…but not beautiful enough to capture Schaffer’s soul. _“I’m a monster, gotta hide away.”_ She pinned Schaffer’s shoulders against the wall, and once she felt the soldier weaken almost, pressed a hand to her neck.

“Ash, please don’t do this. I can help you.” Schaffer remained calm, looking into the eyes of a soldier she’d once learned to love, but there wasn’t a remnant of her at all. From the corner of her eye, she watched as Paul faked a dance and managed to escape from the room. Emma seemed to break from the spell and, after seeing the scene, followed in Paul’s footsteps. Schaffer was on her own. At least she’d done her part for America.

 _“It’s so clear that I fit the part of a-!”_ Ash sang, and mercilessly, the hand around her neck drawing back before plunging it straight into the skin. She was strong, they all were, but after seeing part of her own spine in Ash’s hands, she collapsed, her red blood soon turning blue.

Hearing the plunge, Paul felt tears brim his eyes. Though Pokotho wasn’t with him anymore, and he appeared to be cured, he wasn’t in the clear at all. Clutching Emma’s hand, he started running through the hospital. They had to get to safety, but in a possible pandemic, where was safe from a spore that couldn’t be stopped?

**Author's Note:**

> are they infected or not? dont fucking ask me im half awake. okay goodnight-
> 
> i hope you enjoyed! feel free to leave a comment and kudos :)


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